Cougar fans walked out of the Marriott Center a sad bunch after BYU fell to Pepperdine, 67-61, late Thursday, but at least they didn’t have to suffer through the ESPNU broadcast of the game.
The ESPN networks are doing some experimenting this season with off-site broadcasts, and Cougar fans had the misfortune of having ESPN try it out during BYU’s to Pepperdine.
Instead of sitting courtside at the Marriott Center for the game, the ESPN commentators broadcasted from ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut.
In a story announcing the off-site broadcasts, ESPN senior coordinator producer Dave Miller said, “We tested it on one college basketball game last season, and it was a seamless experience.”
Miller continued saying, “Despite the changes behind the scenes, viewers should receive the same quality production level that they’ve come to expect from ESPN. In short, we will maintain a consistent level of quality in a more efficient way.”
So did Cougar fans feel they got the “same quality production level” from the broadcast? The answer is a resounding, no.
Here are just a few of the many tweets berating the broadcast:
Even Deseret News’ Jazz beat writer Jody Genessy got in on the fun. Genessy, who is quickly becoming an expert on Vine, took advantage of his new skill set on a flight delay to poke fun at the broadcast.
And then soon had this vine of him doing said “play-by-play.”
College sports
— Utah point guard Delon Wright has climbed up to third on ESPN’s Wooden Award watch.
— There has been much talk about assistant football coaches' salaries since Utah lost both its offensive and defensive coordinators to other schools this offseason. A report by ibabuzz.com shows that Utah had the seventh-highest paid assistants of the Pac-12’s 10 public universities in 2014.
— Do you like puppies? Do you like football? What about puppies predicting football? Check out this video to see whom these adorable dogs picked to take home the title.
— Shameless plug of the day: BYU and Utah gymnastics face off Friday night, check out Brad Rock’s story on the Red Rocks' national championship drought.
MLB
— Former BYU pitcher and current Kansas City Royal starter Jeremy Guthrie may be living in the future. In homage to "Back to the Future II," which was set in 2015, Nike will be releasing a pair of self-lacing sneakers and Guthrie has got his feet into an early pair.
NFL
— The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced its 18 finalists for the Class of 2015, with the late Junior Seau, Kurt Warner and Orlando Pace headlining the list.
NBA
— The Atlanta Hawks' owners have unanimously approved to sell all shares of the team. The Hawks are expected to remain in Atlanta.